9 Creative Trade Show Booth Ideas [Infographic]

Trade show booths.

If this phrase doesn’t excite you, you aren’t alone. We have all been to trade shows and seen countless booths without a single drop of inspiration between them. They are all too often boring. Stale. Corporate.

With so many bland trade show booths out there, it’s no wonder that many people struggle to come up with engaging ideas for their own booths. How do you make something compelling, on-brand, and unique when so much of what’s out there is so boring? Where can you draw a bit of inspiration from?

Before you call up your old vendor and resign to a booth as uninspired as its visitors are bound to be, consider that there are actionable changes you can implement that will truly transform your trade show booth.

We scoured the best and worst of the trade show landscape to find nine truly creative trade show display ideas that you can easily incorporate into your booth design. Sure, some ideas may be a bit more time and resource intensive than others, and others may push the envelope a bit too far for more conservative brands. But after doing countless hours of research and attending hundreds of trade shows, we’re confident at least one of these ideas can breathe life into your booth.

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Breaking Down Trade Show Booth Design Ideas

1. Living Wall

Living walls get their name from their uncanny ability to liven up what would otherwise be a simple trade show booth. The idea is simple, and therein lies its genius: transform the main wall of your booth into a vibrant collage of colors and textures. Not only are living walls visually dynamic, but they are also incredibly economical when it comes to set-up, break-down, and conserving space.

Many beautiful examples of living walls are actually alive. That is, constructed from plants, fruit, vegetables, etc. But other living walls are less literal, combining text, objects, and art to create a stunning showcase of brand imagery.

2. Gigantic Objects

Oversized objects have long been a source of fascination for humans. From roadside attractions promising to show you the world’s largest ketchup bottle to giant ceremonial checks, something about the distorted proportions and perspective of gigantic objects strikes us with awe. Incorporating this fascination into your booth is a sure-fire way to excite trade show attendees. When your booth itself is the gigantic object, it will basically be begging attendees to climb inside and explore.

Making your products gigantic is also a great way to magnify the attractiveness of their design. With every detail blown to supersize, customers won’t miss even the more minute specs. But even if your product isn’t so tangible, like in the case of software, the gigantic-object-as-booth motif can still work for you. The following example is from app creator Line, who uses a giant box as their booth and invites visitors inside to get a metaphorical glimpse of their products’ inner workings.

As with this booth from Line Corporation, giant objects make abstract concepts more tangible.

3. Dynamic Seating

There are three things all savvy trade show attendees are constantly on the lookout for: snacks, giveaways, and a place to sit. Seating that is as attractive as it is comfortable is the ultimate way to lure trade show attendees to your booth.

Kohler makes a plug for their bathroom appliances with comfy seats carved from colorful bathtubs.

Giving attendees a place to sit works wonders for a few reasons. First of all, people are more likely to be receptive to your message when they are comfortable and relaxed rather than irritable from standing all day. Secondly, truly remarkable seating displays make for wonderful photo opps. And thirdly, by supplying a comfy chair, you’ll give attendees a reason to stay much longer at your booth than they otherwise may.

Furniture designer Laja Pedrali invites attendees to both marvel at their incredible designs but also to give the seats a test-sit.

4. Repeating Product Wall

Marketing pros will be the first to tell you that it is often repetition that seals the deal. Repeating product walls play off human psychology in a number of ways, all of which can be beneficial to your trade show booth.

Repeating product walls, like this one from S’well, are a great way to show case subtle differences in your product and give customers the feeling of having a lot of options.

First, shoppers tend to gravitate towards displays that appear bountiful. Having your products all lined up in a uniform matter makes them look neat and plentiful. Second, slight variations in color or flavor appear much more exciting when they all appear alongside one another. Even if the distinctions are purely aesthetic, a repeating product wall gives customers the feeling of having a wide range of options. Thirdly, products arranged at eye-level encourage browsing and interaction, two activities that will also hopefully lead to a purchase!

Droehmer Publishing House uses a repeating product wall at the Frankfurt Book Fair grab attendee’s attention with the latest titles.

5. Repurposed Vintage Vehicles

Is your brand old-school cool? By repurposing a vintage vehicle to use at your next trade show booth, your brand will give off good vibrations. Whether an old camper, a VW-bus, an Italian sports car, or a vintage pick-up, this nostalgic aesthetic will make attendees long for the open road. The imagery associated with roadtrips and classic cars can be a powerful message for branding!

Vintage vehicles are also a versatile trade show booth design option. You can opt to either use the vehicle purely decoratively by simply parking it in your booth, or to use it as a functional space. By renovating the interior, you can transform a vintage vehicle into a dynamic part of your booth.

The Normal Brand renovated a camper to create an experiential shopping/camping experience for this booth.

6. Overhead Hangings

If your allotted booth assignment is smaller that you’d hoped, your trade show booth design will have to maximize space and employ a few optical tricks to keep things from feeling cramped. One of the best ways to make your booth look instantly larger is to draw attention upwards with vertical hangings.

Formica Laminate’s little bit of floor space instantly feels three times as big with overhead hangings.

But overhead hangings can do a lot more than just make your booth feel bigger. They can also be seen from a distance, which is definitely an advantage at crowded trade shows. Furthermore, especially when the hangings are brightly colored and well-lit, they can induce a sense of wonder in visitors.

7. Enclosed Environments

Transform your booth into a refuge cut off from the noise and bustle of a busy trade show. By creating a closed environment with your booth, you will pique attendees’ curiosity and help to capture their full attention.

Zykronix created this enclosed space as an immersive experience for trade show attendees.

Creating a closed-off environment is an effective design tactic for trade shows because it makes the experience immersive. You will need to compete with a lot of other booths for attendee’s attention, so sectioning off your booth can go a long way in minimizing distraction. But you don’t need to case visitors in to make the experience more private! Even more open structures can do the trick.

UTC Aerospace Systems’ booth combines the best of both worlds: an enclosed environment that is still open and roomy.

Varian Medical Systems uses long lines to transform what would otherwise be a very safe, traditional trade show booth into a sophisticated and modern space.

One of the great advantages of using long lines to structure and decorate your trade show booth is the aesthetic versatility. An otherwise corporate or stuffy booth looks immediately more chic after introducing some dynamic panels, and simple structures become infinitely more interesting when stacked.

Nature’s Path stacks a series of panels to create a stunning forest canopy.

9. Fabric Architecture

Fabric is among the most practical materials you can use in your trade show booth. Lightweight, flexible, and durable, it can make set-up and break-down a breeze. Plus, fabric can be used to create complex, elaborate architectural structures that would be dangerous or impossible to engineer with rigid materials.

Studio Dega uses fabric to create this intricate, webbed structure for a stunning and unique trade show booth.

Another unique advantage of fabric architecture are the lighting possibilities it enables. Using fabric in your trade show booth design can make way for some seriously creative lighting. Fabric illuminates with a softer, more atmospheric glow than rigid plastics. From the ethereal to the ultra-modern, trade show booths based on fabric structures allow for out-of-this-world designs.